DEUT272 Learn and teach Torah. Learn the wisdom of the Torah and teach it to your children. Learn how to fulfill the mitzvos properly and not transgress the Torah’s prohibitions, achieving true understanding of the Torah's laws. How is this accomplished? Expounding this verse, our Sages answer, “By learning and reviewing the Torah to the degree that it is all on the tip of your tongue, such that if anyone asks you a question about it, you are able to answer him without stuttering, without any hesitation.” This is how one teaches the Torah towards children and pupils-- reviewing it with them until they, too, can answer any question, without hesitation. Key concept: Through Torah learning one comes to understand the ways of Hashem. Without Torah learning, one can never obtain such knowledge. One is left void of understanding, like an animal. He who violate this mitzvah and does not teach his son Torah nullifies a positive precept of the Torah. So, too, anyone who has the opportunity to learn [or teach] and fails to do so. Such a person's punishment is very great, for Torah learning is the mother of all of the other mitzvos.

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DEUT276 Put tefillin on one's arm. Owing to the fact that man has a physical body, he is naturally attracted to physical pleasures. Unless man's physical component is held back by his soul, he will fall into sin, for his earthly side is always rushing to satisfy its every urge and lust. Man's soul, however, is at a disadvantage, for it dwells within man's physical body and is confined within earthly borders--very far from the soul’s realm, which is in the heavens. Far from its home, the soul is unable to subdue the body's urges and they threatened to overpower her. For this reason the soul needs protection from her corrupt earthly neighbor, lest man's physical component kill her, for she is trapped in his territory and is under his sway. Hashem wants His holy nation to have merits, so He commands us to post a number of strong guards around our soul--specifically to never cease speaking words of Torah, day and night; to place tzitzis on one's garments; to attach a mezuzah at one’s doorways; and to wear tefillin on one's arm and head. All these are reminders so that we abstain from sin and do not follow after our eyes and our lusting heart.

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DEUT277 Put tefillin on one's head. As to why these four particular passages, as opposed to others, are inside our tefillin, these deal with accepting Heaven’s kingship and the One-ness of Hashem. So, too, there are verses about the Exodus from Egypt, the decisive factor behind belief that the world was created, and that its Creator is involved with all that He made and watches over the entire creation at all times. These concepts are central to the Jewish religion. Therefore, our Maker commands us to place these fundamental principles between our eyes and next to our hearts every day, for these two parts of the body are where our intelligence and powers of perception dwell. By laying these principles as a remembrance on these places, we become more firmly attached and more firmly committed to these principles. We also become more conscious of Hashem's ways, and thereby merit eternal life.

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DEUT292 Do not excessively test a true prophet. Included in this mitzvah is that we are forbidden to test Hashem through performance of mitzvos. That is, we may not perform mitzvos with the intention of checking whether He rewards us for them. One is forbidden to make one's performance of mitzvos conditional upon receiving reward for them. Rather, mitzvos must be performed out of love for Hashem, and also out of awe and fear of Him. As to why we are forbidden to test Hashem through the performance of mitzvos--reward for mitzvos is not given in this world.

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DEUT324 Do not show favor or mercy towards those who worship idols. Key concept: Actions are born of thoughts. After having a thought, a person will express the thought verbally and eventually he acts upon his thought. Through the Torah’s command to not think or speak positively about idol worshippers, we will stay far clear of them and never associate with them. We will neither seek their affection, nor learn from anything that they do.

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DEUT327 Destroy the seven nations. The seven nations were the ones that introduced to the world all sorts of idol-worship, as well as all of the other abominations that Hashem hates. Since they were the center of idol-worship and they introduced it, we were commanded to annihilate them and leave no trace of them under the heavens. None were to be left among the living, and all remembrance of them was to be obliterated. This mitzvah was to serve a benefit, that having annihilated these nations, the Jewish People would never follow in their ways. Also, by fiercely attacking them and chasing after them to kill them because of their idol worship, we would take a lesson and no Jew, even for a moment, would think to imitate these nations, for any reason in the world.

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DEUT329 Do not marry gentiles. Among the masses, there is much foolishness, and men allow their wives to hold sway over them. Thus, if a man marries a woman who worships idols, she will draw him, too, into idol worship. In addition, if they have children, she will raise them to worship idols-- and woe to anyone who brings such ruin upon his own offspring.

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DEUT362 Do not derive any pleasure or benefit from items that are offered to idols. A corollary principle, according to our Sages, is that alongside money and belongings that Hashem helps us to gain justly, we are prohibited to have money or objects that we stole, extorted, collected as interest, or gained by some other ugly means. Possessions such as these are rooted in physical desires and the evil inclination, and the name of idol worship is called upon them. If a person has idol worship amongst his possessions, or belongings such as these, it contaminates his assets, for Heaven's blessing will not rest on them, and he is bound to lose all that he has.

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DEUT371 The mitzvah of saying Birkas HaMazon--a blessing of thanks to Hashem--after eating bread. Key concepts: By way of introduction, Hashem is the Master of all honor, glory and good, as well as all the wisdom, power and blessing. Accordingly, whatever a person says or does--good or bad--it is of no benefit or harm to Him. Similarly, when we say, ברוך אתה ה׳״—Blessed Are You, Hashem,” we are not adding or bestowing blessing upon Him, God forbid, for He has no need for additional blessing. He is Master of all and already has all. Blessing and good are His creations. He brings them into existence out of nothing, and out of His infinite goodness He bestows of them wherever and on whomever He pleases. The concept of saying a “blessing” to Hashem is beyond human understanding. The matter involves profound secrets of creation, but my great desire to reach but a fraction of understanding has stirred me to speak about this subject and offer a partial explanation. Hashem, Creator of the Universe, is abundantly kind and desires to bestow good on others. At the same time, He wants mankind to be deserving of His good. In view of these principles, the matter of “blessing” is simultaneously a reminder and a good deed that makes us worthy of His blessing. While reciting a blessing our souls are aroused, as we recall that He is the Source of all blessing. When we express this idea verbally and with feeling, and we also express our gratitude to Him, declaring that He is King and can send blessing to whomever He pleases, it is a good deed that draws Divine blessing upon us. In different blessings, after making this declaration and expressing our gratitude, we ask for our needs--for knowledge, for forgiveness of our sins, for cure for our ills, for financial success and so on. After our request we again acknowledge that only from Him can we obtain what we need. This, in short, is the essence of each blessing’s introduction and “signature” (conclusion)--to declare that only He provides our needs. As to why, regarding food, we bless after we eat, while regarding Torah learning, we bless beforehand, the explanation lies in the fact that man has a material, animalistic side. This lowly aspect of his being does not recognize good until after it physically senses it. Therefore, Hashem does not ask this part of us to serve Him by thanking Him and acknowledging Him until after it receives its portion. By contrast, learning or reading the Torah benefits the spiritual part of our being--our soul and intellect--and this part of us already knows Hashem. This part of us understands and recognizes ahead of time, before the benefit from Him arrives and his felt. For this reason, Hashem requires us to say the blessing of thanks and acknowledgment before learning or reading the Torah.

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DEUT460 Show love for converts. Having made the nation of Israel His chosen and holy people, Hashem seeks to elevate us and make us more worthy. Therefore, He teaches and guides us so that we develop feelings of mercy and pity. He enjoins us to crown ourselves with all of the positive and desired character traits, so that we will cast our charm upon everyone around us. When the nations of the world will look upon us, they will exclaim, “These are the people of God” (Yechezkel 36: 20). How very pleasant and charming it is when Jews show love for converts and go out of their way to be kind to them and protect them from any sort of suffering. The convert has left his native people and family, and has placed himself under the wings of a different people because he loves them, and because he has chosen truth and hates falsehood. We also learn from this mitzvah to show mercy on any visitor who comes to a strange city, far from his homeland. When he is amongst us, alone and with no one to help him, we may not turn our eyes from him and ignore his plight. We see that the Torah commands us to show kindness to all who need help. If we strengthen these traits in ourselves, we become worthy of Heaven's mercy. The blessings of Hashem will rest upon our heads, and His good will cling to us.

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